Subject: the state lockyer fires earthy attack at energy exec
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subject : rahil jafry : the state lockyer fires earthy attack at energy exec
california ; metro desk
the state
lockyer fires earthy attack at energy exec
jenifer warren
05 / 23 / 2001
los angeles times
home edition
b - 7
copyright 2001 / the times mirror company
sacramento - - in a dramatic escalation of energy crisis rhetoric ,
california atty . gen . bill lockyer this week suggested the chairman of a
houston - based power company should be locked in a prison cell with an
amorous , tattooed inmate named spike .
lockyer , who is investigating whether energy firms have manipulated
prices on the wholesale electricity market , made the comment in an
interview with the wall street journal that appeared tuesday .
" i would love to personally escort [ enron corp . chairman kenneth ] lay
to an 8 - by - 10 cell that he could share with a tattooed dude who says , ' hi
my name is spike , honey , ' " lockyer said .
enron spokesman mark palmer called the comment " counterproductive
rhetoric " that " does not merit a response . "
but other industry representatives denounced the remark as
" outrageous , " especially because neither lockyer ' s office nor any
investigative panel has filed charges against enron or other companies .
" you ' d expect that the state ' s chief legal counsel would file charges
first and make public statements second , " said gary ackerman of the
western power trading forum , an association of energy producers and
traders . " we ' re very disappointed with his choice of words , which don ' t
exactly fit the profile of his office . "
in an interview tuesday , lockyer said he decided to " ratchet up " the
commentary to " put [ energy companies ] on notice " that " we are not afraid
of them and have the will to prosecute . "
" what i ' m trying to do is let these economic buccaneers understand
that if we catch them , they ' re going to be prosecuted , " lockyer said .
" just because they ' re multimillionaires and run big corporations , it
doesn ' t provide them with immunity . "
the attorney general is investigating whether power company officials
tried to maximize profits through illegal manipulation of prices on the
wholesale energy market . several panels , including a state senate
committee and the california public utilities commission , are conducting
similar probes .
on tuesday , lockyer announced that three power companies have agreed
to turn over documents subpoenaed months ago by his investigators . the
attorney general went to court to obtain the documents after the
companies failed to meet a march 19 deadline to hand them over .
lockyer said the forthcoming documents would help his office as it
sifts through mountains of evidence in search of possible violations of
antitrust or unfair business practice laws .
" evidence is accumulating that certainly infers illegal activity , "
lockyer said . " but we need to make sure it ' s compelling and clear enough
that you can convince a jury . "
lockyer said he singled out enron ' s chairman because the houston
company is the world ' s largest energy trader .
at least one observer found lockyer ' s comments refreshingly candid .
harry snyder , a senior advocate of consumers union , said , " let lockyer be
lockyer . "
*
times staff writer dan morain contributed to this story .
folder name : rahil jafry
relevance score on scale of 100 : 82
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